Ricochet by Xanthe Walter

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Ricochet
by Xanthe Walter
(Digital)

This is the first book I've ever read & finished in completely digital format on my iPad. I wanted to read one... and now I have. I can honestly say I prefer physical books. Sure, it was nice to have it at my fingertips, downloading instantly so I could start reading the moment I wanted to, but I like to feel the progress I make in a book in my hands, whther it's looking at the finished vs. unfinished pages from the top/side of a book or slipping discs in and out of CD holders. Yeah, I could watch the little counts go up on the bottom of the page, but 680 pages as the lowest page count? Yikes!

This book is well worth the length and in places, I wished it would go on longer in fact! I thought it ended in a wonderful place, and I certainly hope that the characters from the fictional television show, Collar Crimes, show up in another novel of Xanthe's. I've read a lot of Xanthe's novel-length fanfics and completely fell in love with her BDSM collarverse (BDSM done the right way, not the Shades of Gray way!). The basic concept is a reality in which people identify as doms or subs (or, occasionally, switches or neither, though the novel doesn't touch on those much if at all). Bisexuality is the norm and sex isn't the least bit taboo. Society has rituals and rules to how doms and subs are to behave--doms can offer subs a collar, subs can refuse the collar, there are safewords, belt-buckling, and sharing a plate. Spankings can be for fun or for discipline and there are clear lines between the two. My point is that it's a whole, complex world Xanthe created that is a pleasure to read in ANY form and one I was quite familiar with before starting Ricochet so I didn't have any trouble buying into the reality.

It did take me a while to get to know the characters, however. I instantly loved Matt and could relate to him, a sub always desperate to do the right thing and who has OCD; he wants to find a dom who'll love him for him and help him experience his subspace deeply, but he keeps hooking up with service-oriented doms who believe in strict rule-keeping and don't help him explore or grow into what he can be. And there's Rick, the big, goofy dom partyboy who takes a different sub home every night and doesn't believe in repeats... and who ends up being disciplined more than most subs. And there's a whole cast of characters at the television show on which they work, parents, reporters, sponsors--all the elements and figures you need for a good, complex relationship drama. There's also great chemistry between the characters.

The reader can tell right from the beginning that the obsessively in control sub and out of control dom are going to end up together somehow. But the way it happens is completely unexpected and entirely wonderful. I love the friendship that grows into more. And I absolutely adore what the two are willing to do for each other as friends, coworkers, lovers, and... other things. I liked the the story didn't end when they got together. No "awww, twue luuuv! Happily ever after!" In fact, it goes on for many chapters after that with twists and turns that add to the complexity and try the relationship in different ways. In the end, you wind up with something strong and wonderful, something I stayed up far too late into the night reading to find out how it ends :-)

There were only three drawbacks for me. One is that Xanthe is British and every so often there was a line of dialogue or word that would absolutely never be said by an American, especially not one in Cali. There were only a handful of these throughout, and luckily there's a British character as well so there was no need to worry about him saying anything wrong. Another drawback was that some of the main characters' dynamics are not my own and they are ones that crop up in many of her sex scenes in other works. Nothing kills the flow for me as much as being drawn into the emotions of a scene and then the dom orders something that I absolutely can't relate to or understand and it pulls me out of the story for a while. There were lots of similarities between Matt and Rick and some of her other couples, and that familiarity is both good and less exciting, if that makes sense. But the great thing about a novel this complex is that we were able to go much deeper into the world and see even more types of characters. I loved one actor who lost his dom still wearing her collar after years, twin subs wanting to share a dom, a dom pining after a sub and being too scared to come out and say anything about it, parents of different sorts, people who uniquely manipulate others based on this new society, etc. It was a pleasure. And the third drawback for me was jail. I guess I was spoiled by Xanthe's General & Dr Sheppard where the mere idea of disciplining someone by locking them up is shocking to those from the BDSM 'verse; so to find that prison is a very real thing in this 'verse took me entirely by surprise and threw me out of the story for a little while.

But, in the grand scheme of things, those were TINY little problems I had. On a whole, I loved the book and definitely didn't want it to end. Well crafted characters, well written prose, great plot twists, unique aspects and dynamics, and a whole world you just fall right into and can't leave.

I will most likely purchase a paperback copy of this book, even though I bought the digital copy. It's one I could see myself easily reading again (all of Xanthe's stories are so easy and enjoyable to reread) and one I would like to hold physically in my hands.